The central government named former financial services secretary Debasish Panda as chairman of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) for three years on Friday. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) supervises the country’s insurance business.
“The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Debasish Panda former Secretary, Department of Financial Services to the post of Chairperson, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) initially for a period of 03 years from the date of assumption of the charge of the post or until further orders, whichever is earlier,” the government said in a statement.
Panda is an Uttar Pradesh cadre IAS officer from the 1987 batch. After a two-year tenure, he stepped down as Secretary of Financial Services in January of this year.
The nomination of the IRDAI chairman comes roughly 9 months after the gap was created by Subhash Chandra Khuntia’s tenure expiring in May of last year. Khuntia, a retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer from the 1981 batch, was appointed for a three-year term in May 2018. In a press conference in February, Finance Minister said that the agency will shortly hire a chief.
Khuntia’s replacement was to be chosen by the finance minister in April 2021. According to the Finance Ministry, the chairperson’s cumulative pay and allowances would be Rs 4.50 lakh per month, excluding the usage of a residence and a car.
It said that the candidate should have a minimum of two years of residual service as of May 7, 2021, and that the applicant’s age should not be more than 63 years old on that day.
According to the qualifying criteria, the applicant may not take office after the age of 65. It is essential that the candidate have at least 30 years of work experience and have worked as secretary to the government or at a comparable position in other organizations.